


When The Moon Sets

by ZarryFTZouis



Series: Chrissy's Oneshots [16]
Category: Marianas Trench, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Knotting, M/M, mention of cuffing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 14:42:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2313215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZarryFTZouis/pseuds/ZarryFTZouis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall is a new-ish demigod Daimon, Liam is a Were/Dark-Hunter.<br/>The two of them shouldn't mix but their lives are intertwined.</p><p>Sort of sequel to "Desires At Night".</p>
            </blockquote>





	When The Moon Sets

**Author's Note:**

> Didn't expect to finish this one today as well so double-update! (Still the 15th where i live)

**A/N This is a sort of sequel to Desires At Night and this time, it's Niam, centered more around the aspects of Were-Hunters and demigods in the series. I'd love to make this a Nouis but I killed him off in Desires At Night, oops. Don't skip this author's note 'cause if you do, you'll be confused as fuck what the hell is going on when we get to the good Niam fluff (that becomes hardcore smut).  
**

**I've already covered that eleven thousand years ago, Apollites had doomed themselves by killing Apollo's mistress and had been cursed to stay out of Apollo's domain, the daylight. Apollites have to feed from each other (which I substituted with Zayn stealing bloodbags from a hospital in my Desires At Night oneshot) to survive and on the day of his or her 27th birthday, the Apollite dies. Not just in a way "I died in my sleep" but in a painful, excruciating way where you age quickly and die. Most Apollites either commit suicide or become a Daimon before that day.  
**

**The ancient Atlantean goddess Apollymi, the goddess of Life, Death, Wisdom and Destruction holds a grudge against Artemis and Apollo. In retaliation of being confined in the Atlantean hell realm Kalosis, she teaches the Apollites how to collect souls from humans to become a Daimon, what the modern day humans know as vampires. The real difference is that Daimons collect souls to survive, they only drain blood as pleasure since feeding from a human is highly pleasurable.  Once an Apollite transitions into a Daimon, he or she has a dark blot in middle of his chest, which is where the Dark-Hunters stab him/her to kill them.  
**

**It's quite simple yet complicated how the Were-Hunter race started. King Lycaon married an Apollite and didn't know she was cursed to die on her 27th birthday. When his beloved queen died, he realised that his sons would meet the same fate. With help of others, he delved into dark magic and found a way to fuse souls of powerful animals into his sons - and his queen's people. The animal he chose were the wolf, jackal, lion, leopard, snow leopard, tiger, panther, hawk, falcon, eagle and even the dragon. He fused the souls with the most powerful animals, those of the wolf and the dragon, with his sons'. These new people were no longer bound to die on their 27th birthday - in fact, they lived well beyond that point, about ten or twelve times more than an average mortal.  
**

**The Moirai - trio of goddesses who control fate - did not like that at all. They deemed these new creatures - who now bear powers of powerful magic as well as shifting into an animal - have two different sides; the Arcadians with heart and base form of a human, the Katagria with heart of and base form of an animal. They also declared that Arcadians and Katagria hunt each other down, as a result of King Lycaon's attempt to defy Apollo as a mortal. The Moire also split each son of Lycaon into two different beings. Now instead of one son with wolf's powers and another dragon's, there was one Arcadian Lykos and one Katagari Lykos, and one Arcadian Drakos and one Katagari Drakos. (The Weres descended from Lycaon's sons bear the last name Kattalakis.)  
**

**The Arcadians think of the Katagria as animals who are nothing but savages while the Katagria think the Arcadians are merciless humans who don't feel and stay together like animals do.**

**The final will from the Moirai was that the Were-Hunters are born with their mate, _fated by themselves_ , and Were-Hunter will spend his/her entire life finding his/her mate. The Hunter only knows who his potential mate is after he has sex with her. After they had sex, a mark will appear on their palms, the mark being the intricate design of his animal from. (Blue for Katagria, red for Arcadians) The couple has three weeks to complete the mating ritual - have sex again with the marked palms pressed against one another. After that, there will be a  _thryo_ , the need to bond their lives together, which is totally optional.  _Both of the bonded mates will die when one of them dies._**

**Arcadian Were-Hunters. They are, as mentioned before, are humans who have to ability to change forms into the animals. The animal they can turn into is determined by their parents, who are most likely to be from the same animal group (from the list above). When they hit adolescence (around mid-twenties in human years. The Were-Hunters age slower than humans).The Sentinels, chosen by the Fates, will have henna tattoo-like designs on one side of their face, marking them as one. They possess stronger magical powers than other Arcadians, and most definitely the Katagaria. There's a special group of Sentinels called the Aristos who have even greater powers. They are the Were-Hunters who can walk in different realms like gods. Most Aristos don't tell the others of their secret since Katagria will do anything to kill an Aristos before they are killed themselves.**

**Katagaria Were-Hunters. They are the animal counterparts of their Arcadian bretheren and take pride in the term "Were-Hunter" since the word "were" means "human". They were born as animals and live like animals. Not literally though. They prefer to stay in their base form (that of an animal's) unless they are out in the humans' eyes for food and pleasure. Like the Arcadians, they have the Strati, soldiers who protect the females and the cubs/pups/fledglings. Unlike the Sentinels, they don't have exceptional magical powers. Then there are the Slayers, as the name suggests, who kill everyone in their sight. The Omegarion council issues death warrant on the Slayers.**

**The Omegrion council is the ruling court where the chosen strongest Were-Hunters from each patria (animal group) gather to discuss law and death warrant. It's led by Savitar, an immortal. "Led" isn't a correct term, but the general idea of what he does with the Weres.**

**Dark-Hunters, created by Artemis about nine thousand years ago, are her foot soldiers who kill the Daimons. They're immortals with psychic powers (ie: pyrokinesis, teleportation, telekinesis, etc). All Dark-Hunters bear the mark of Artemis - the double bow and arrow mark - where the goddess touched him when she brought him back from the dead. _He must have died after a foul betrayal in order to have Artemis hear his soul screaming for vengeance_. The newly-brought back Dark-Hunter then gets his Act of Vengeance to kill who betrayed him but that's the only time he can kill a human. The most basic rule of being a DH is that you must protect humans from Daimons. Each Dark-Hunter comes with an out-clause that can make him mortal once again but they have to find it on their own. To become human again, his true love must hold the stone that holds his soul (that is kept by Artemis herself) to the DH mark. Plottwist, the soul stone will hurt the lover's hand like it's burning. Additionally, Artemis has to agree to release the DH from her service. As mentioned on Desires At Night, all DH's eyes turn dark brown (that's practically black to any mortal's eyes, as per descriptions in the series) since they're soulless. Any Dark-Hunter is not allowed to be in a presence of a god and if it happens, they have every right to try to kill them.  
**

**Now, the fun part - the demigods. Demigods are, quite obviously, half-human, half-god. Unlike PJO series, demigods in Sherrilyn Kenyon's books aren't bound to one specific ability they inherit from their godly parent. Demigods - simply put - are all-powerful "mortals" with powers of a god. Apollites are already gifted with psychic powers so a demigod Daimon is capable of killing Dark-Hunters with his powers.**

**Please keep in mind my Desires At Night oneshot is set in mid-January 2014 so by default, this starts around mid/late-January 2014**

**PS: All Apollites are supposed to be blond unless they dyed their hair like Strykerius (Stryker) so let's all pretend Niall doesn't have to bleach his hair in this fic.**

**PPS: All Were-Hunters can have change of their base forms when they hit puberty, which is around 25 in human years.**

**PPPS: Sorry about super long A/N DH and WH universe desciption.**

**Niall's POV**

  I never asked for this life, it was predestined way before my time.

  Nor did I plan to become the monster I am now.

  My name is Niall and I'm a twenty two years old and a vampire... okay,  _vampire_  isn't the technical term, since I'm a Daimon.

  I'm not the Hollywood type vampire who kills people for blood, I kill to  _live longer_. It's fucked up how my ancestor pissed off Apollo, the Greek god of sun and condemned all the Apollites to die at a young age of twenty-seven.

  We've two options before the due date: A) Kill ourselves to save us from slow, painful deaths B) Go Daimon.

  Being the hypocritical bastard I am, I chose the latter. I left the Apollite community I've lived all my life and fled to suburban London. Woudn't really call it "fled" since I've my own secret.

  The thing is, I'm not a regular Daimon; I'm also a demigod.

 Long story short, I love and  _rejoice_  in killing all the criminals and felons I've killed ever since I became an Agkelos Daimon, a Daimon who only takes the souls of aforementioned groups of people. It's hard, it's so fecking hard to keep my sanity when there are voices inside my head, voices of those I've taken the soul of, telling me to kill someone.

  Well, I do kill people for a living (not the best lifestyle but I want to live longer than short twenty seven years of life) but I didn't want to die just because my ancestor pissed off the great sun god. 

  Sarcasm was much intended.

  My mom had a thing with Calumus, the Celtic god of war, and voilà! I was born. Ever since I was a kid, I explored these.. powers I've as a demigod. Things as little as moving the cookie jar off of the high tables when I was seven to fully flashing  **(A/N teleporting)**  myself to my mate's house at midnight for a couple beers when I was fifteen. In human years, of course. Apollites age faster than humans and it's sort of our custom to get married around age of seventeen since we live so fucking short.

  Back to the main story. By the time I was twenty-two in human years, I've mastered all my demigod powers and  _he_  happened.

  My father decided to visit my Apollite community, the once all-powerful Camulus. His presence was unwelcomed by pretty much all of Apollites but he was a god; he could wipe us out if he wanted to.

  "I wish to speak to my son," he said when he my cousin looked at him fearfully. "Alone, Deo."

  Without a word, he grabbed my hand and flashed us to my room (with an embarrassing poster of Believe Justin Poster I never bothered to take down). He didn't say a word but he looked... pensive and sorrowful.

  "Niall," he started but I cut him off, baring my fangs at my  _father._ Someone who neglected my existence until then.

  "What the fuck are you doin' here, Camulus?" I raised my hand to blast him with a god bolt but he deflected it effortlessly. "I fecking hate you!"

  "You're my only son, and first I've had in centuries,"  **(A/N Camulus' son died in hands of one of the DH's in the series)**  the god didn't look annoyed by my attack. "And without anyone to worship my pantheon, Celtic gods are losing their powers.

  "So here's the deal, son. You may hate me, but I need you to keep living for my pantheon -  _your_ pantheon, too - to not lose the powers. The Greeks gain powers from all the followers but not us. For sake of Celtic gods, for sake of  _me_ , become a Daimon."

  That stunned me. A god deigning to visit me to ask  _me_ a favour for him. I still had five years before my, shall I say, due date so thoughts of becoming a Daimon wasn't really intriguing to me.

  "For a favour like that, I need something in return,  _father,_ " I smirked at my father I'd never seen until then. "A favour for a favour."

  "You can read my thoughts, I know that much, Niall and I yours. What you are asking for is impossible. I cannot go against the Moire," he gritted his teeth together. "Greeks will definitely wage a war against Celts if I were to do that."

  " _I'm your only surviving son_ ," I lashed out with my powers, fueled by anger, and shattered the black-painted windows and the lamp.  _"As obsolete as you may be, can't you do something for someone at least once in your life?"_

  "Niall," he flinched noticeably when my powers were out of control. "I cannot grant you immortality without changing your fate but I can grant you invincibility. I will protect you from the Dark-Hunters the best I can, I swear this on my immortal soul."

   Fast-forward to today and here I am, a ruthless killer who preys on human souls. Someone who kills criminals because that's what they deserve.

  Living in London isn't that hard apart from the shitty weather eighty percent of the time I'm out. Do I miss the Apollite community in Mulligar? Hell fecking yeah I do. There's a part of me that wishes I stayed there and died in arms of my friends on my twenty seventh birthday, slowly, aging and tortured by the cursed placed upon me even before I was born.

  But not all Apollites welcome their kin after he goes Daimon.

  It's an unusually clear night and I can see the half moon in the sky and I glare at her. Why Artemis decided to create Dark-Hunters to kill  _my_  people, I haven't a clue. Had I enough power, I would march up to Olympus and kill everyone in my sight - gods and nymphs alike.

  My now-dark brown eyes flash blood-red when they spot a girl - in her late teens - from bloodlust. She's not like my usual meal but I haven't taken a soul in four days.

   _I'm sorry,_  I send a silent apology to her before I flash right in front of her.

  "Don't scream, babe," I use my demigod powers to compel her, hating myself that I'm about to go against my own rules to feed from an innocent girl. "Don't run, just stay still."

  Her wide, almond-shaped grey eyes look at me, hypnotised, and nods dutifully. Her straight brown hair is flat against her tiny frame, giving her a serene look.

  Right before her death.

  I lean in close to her face and sink my fangs into her neck, piercing her pulmonary vein. A soft gasp mixture of pain and pleasure escapes from her lips as I growl against her skin.

  It's the draining the blood out of my victims that excites me. The adrenaline rushing through my veins as her blood fills my system, pleasure clashing with the desires I feel.

  Her body goes limp against mine after few minutes into my feeding. I detach my fangs from her neck and press my lips to her forehead. It's what I do whenever I kill someone innocent. Pure of heart.

  "May the gods find you a better life next time," I whisper before I press her chest against mine, absorbing her soul.

  Absorbing someone's soul can drive you nuts. A soul is the most essential part of a human being and when you take something against its will, they fight back.

   _What's happening?_  The girls voice ring inside my head, which I gladly ignore. I've had four months to deal with the souls I'd taken as nourishment. Most of them were criminals so her case, it's like an icing of a cake you lick before you eat it.

   _Come to me..._

  I cock my head when the unfamiliar voice speaks in my mind. As a demigod Daimon, I'm used to hearing voices from  _other_  people, not a random voice who decides to invade my mental personal space.

   _Who the fuck are you?_  I send back immediately, curious who decided to contact a relatively new Daimon.

  Disembodied laughter rings inside my head and I have a feeling this "person" is not mortal nor is he an Apollite.

   _You'll find your way to me if you're as powerful as you think, Niall. All Daimons are under my control. Find me and I'll give you what you desire._

  I feel a lift inside my head, letting me know this Daimon stopped fucking with my head. Well that was more than a little bit entertaining.

  Then I have a  _feeling_  telling me I should be else where. A cognition I possess as a demigod otherwise known as intuition. This gut instinct is telling me to find  _him_.

   _Wait, what_ him _?_

  Ignoring the feeling, and against my best resolve, I find myself walking to a local  _limani_ , a place set up by Were-Hunters (who are like cousins for Apollites and Daimons but that's a really long story for other time) where truce between all supernatural creatures is held.

  "Ah, Niall. I was wondering if you would show up tonight," Aria, the owner of the restaurant and bar, and a falcon Arcadian Were-Huntress greets me. She's around hundred and seventy-five years old in human years but in Were-Hunter years, she's in her mid-twenties and looks like a typical college student tending for her parents. Her parents, both Arcadians, died in hands of a Katagaria tessera  **(A/N group of four WH's on a patrol)**  who ambushed them. "No Dark-Hunter showed up tonight but I did see a couple pups today. Gah, the stench of those young wolves made me gag. Not to mention I didn't have Hunter open The Soar with me earlier today."

  The friendship I've with Aria is quite... unique given the fact that there are a lot of Daimons seeking after Were-Hunter's soul for their powers. I've heard from other passing Daimons that the soul is strong enough to last at least a week, two weeks at top.

  But she's also the first person I've opened up to after I turned Daimon and her  _limani_   **(A/N Literally bar/restaurants owned by the WH's that are sanctuaries between all kinds of life forms, Dark-Hunters, Daimons, Apollites, Were-Hunters, demons, gods, and "others")**  made it easier for me to survive.

  Not a full second after that thought, I feel a presence of a Dark-Hunter. He has a cropped black hair with well-structured jaw and his eyes are - dark brown, no doubt - covered by a pair of black shades.

  "Looks like your luck ran out," Aria whispers to me before she goes to the other customers.

  What she doesn't know is that I've killed quite a number of Dark-Hunters in short four months of my life as a Daimon.

  The first time it happened was just three weeks after my transition. I was completely unprepared to see a Dark-Hunter in flash so when he tried to stab me in my chest to expire me, the first thing that came into my mind was  _run._

  Second thing was to tap into my demigod powers and blast this arrogant bastard for trying to kill the favoured son of Camulus.

  I lifted him off the ground with my powers, taking him by his surprise. He twisted and squirmed mid-air, suspended, as I manifested a longsword and beheaded him.

   The Hunter's eyes zero onto me and he snarls, fulling flashing his fang at me. Talk about a cocky git who thinks all Dark-Hunters are better than Daimons.

   _I'll kill you the moment we're out of this bar._  I send him a mental projection.  _Ten-second head start._

  He scoffs at my threat and glares at me warningly before ordering some shots.

~*~

  Keeping my promise, I wait for the black-haired Dark-Hunter by the bar, leaning against a streetlight. My eyes flash red from the anticipation of a fight I hadn't for a couple weeks.

  Practice makes perfect, and practising my practically unlimited demigod powers against foolish, ignorant Dark-Hunters is always fun. Jovial.

  The aforementioned Dark-Hunter emerges from the bar, his lips stretching into a smirk the moment his eyes land on me.

  "Are you one of the daylight walkers?" is all he says before he lunges at me, dagger first. I, of course, was anticipating that move and I step aside easily, using my powers to levitate him. He curses in a language I don't understand (I could guess he was cursing by the tone). "What the fuck are you?" He reverts to English.

  "I am not like your regular Daimons you kill, babe," I spit at him, lifting him up higher before I smash him against the brick walls, hearing a sickening yet enlightening sound of his skull cracking open. "I'm the  _real_ baddest thing at night."

  He has total time of two seconds before I'm in front of him, with my hands changed into claws, before I rip his heart out.

  His vacant eyes stare directly into the half moon, his patroness.

  "Did you see that, Artemis?" I yell, knowing fully well that the goddess will never choose to listen to me. "I'll kill all of your Hunters until there's no one left. Maybe then I'll find out who's the real power in this world."

  Of course, the goddess chooses to ignore me.

  With a silent, unspoken curse, I walk back into the bar, greeted by a surprised looking Aria.

   _You killed him?_ She projects inside my head. Fuck, I forget the Weres could do that. I choose to ignore her and flash back home.

  My "home" is a flat in rural parts of London, with two bedrooms and a small kitchenette. Why I bothered to buy a flat in London from an old lady who had no kids to give it to, I've no clue. I also wanted to feed from her and take her soul but the sane part of me, my  _conscience_  told me not to kill an innocent human.

  I walk to my room and seat myself at the desk, turning my laptop on to look up at Kalosis.com. This is an online community for Apollites and Daimons - not a lot of Daimons but it's worth checking - where we exchange information with each other.

  The post "a new Dark-Hunter is supposedly dispatched in Yorkshire" catches my eyes. I could kill that Hunter as a practice, no?

**Liam's POV**

  "Idiot!" I curse under my breath when Harry and Zayn flashes away, with the dagger buried in Harry's back. "Why would he do that for a frigging Daimon?"

 _Because he loves that fabio._  My mind answers the question.  _People tend to do stupid things when they're in love._

  I flash to where I felt the presence of Daimons and bam! it's Zayn, the one Harry's been having some kind of relationship with. I did kill that other shaggy-haired bloke but not Zayn. Does Harry not realise that sooner or later, he has to kill Zayn, like what his job description says?

  As a wolf-were who was sacrificed to the Daimon by my own patria nearly five centuries ago, I have a reason to hate the Daimons with a passion. I completely trusted Andy, but no, he wanted to save his own arse and make a pact with the Daimon so that he can live.

  Some Katagaria make deals with Daimons to sacrifice their own clan members and I was that unlucky member of the clan. Needless to say, Andy was the one I killed as my Act of Vengeance.

  I grit my teeth from the painful memory and howl into the night. A stray cat who's trotting by yowls and scurries away from me. 

  I was unmated before I became a Dark Hunter and I doubt I'll find a mate as a Dark Hunter. All my immediate family members from the pack time traveled to this century and both of my sisters are mated. I hate that they have someone to return to when they come back to their houses - figuratively speaking since we don't really have houses as wolves - when I'm greeted by the empty house. 

  Growling and baring my teeth, I flash away to another place I feel the presence of a Daimon.

  When I arrive on the spot, I'm greeted by a dark blonde Daimon, her curls cascading down her shoulders and back. With a grin, I lunge forward and stab her through her chest with the backup dagger I always carry with me. She lets out a curse before she disintregrates into dust.  

  The human Daimon was feeding from looks at me with glassy eyes. With a sigh, I use the mind control on her. "Forget what happened tonight. You were hiking a trail and got attacked by a mountain lion."

  She nods dutifully as I flash away from her.

  I hope I didn't zap any important memory.

~*~

  Back home, and by home, I mean the large private estate couple centuries ago, and shift back into my base form. There's no pain when I'm transforming like those Hollywood movies. Were-Hunters don't screech and snarl in pain as our bodies morph into our respective animal form. It's a painless procedure and takes less than a blink of an eye.

  In my natural form, I'm a large European wolf with silvery-brown fur. Since I haven't any Squire  **(A/N a human whose job is to protect and serve the Dark-Hunter he's sworn to)** by my request, no one is here to yell at my current state. I trot in my house, a house no one but my past lovers have been to. 

  Ironic how the Moirai has been kind enough to not mate me to one of my past lovers when it was also them who decided Andy betray me to those Daimons. By all means, I should've been soulless but a soul has its way on working. Nicola and Ruth told me that they tracked and kill the Daimons Andy'd made a pact with, something not even our parents know.

  I trudge all the way to the garden, using my forepaw to open the door with little difficulty, and seat myself into an upright sitting position, looking into the half moon. The way it looks tonight... it looks so peaceful and ethereal.

_And the goddess is a rank bitch who makes everyone's life a living hell._

Moonlight illumates my pelt as I slide my paws forward to a lying position, my chin rested on my paws as the memorie assault me.

  The first time I changed into human form after I hit puberty, first time I kissed a girl from the same pack on my birthday, the pack leader telling me that she chose me as a Strati to protect and guard our pack, Andy and I kissing after we got drunk on alcohol in the city...

  And finally, Andy's smirk right before the Daimons drained me and took my soul, sending me to the Nether Realm.

  Thank the gods above my sisters were quick and killed the Daimons as soon as I was taken by Andy, after they'd a quarrel.

  I growl at the memories that surfaced, hating myself for letting myself reminesce. That's my fucking past, my past will never define me! Only thing that matters is that I have humans to protect and a bitchy goddess I have to try not to piss off.

~*~

  I wake up with a burning sensation all over my body, which I yelp at. Sure enough, it's sunrise and the first rays of sun hits my pelt. 

  Now, one of the few advantages of being a Were/Dark-Hunter is that I can stay in sunlight only in my wolf form. The downside is that it's still Apollo's domain and I have to suffer from a really bad case of sunburn.

  I leap into my house and change forms immediately. I uses my powers to shut the door and close the blinds. Another minutes later, I'm in my bedroom, tucked away in safety.

  Figuratively speaking.

  I heard words from Acheron that there are new types of Daimons, the ones who can walk in daylight, which should be impossible.

_Does that mean I'll ever be able to see sunlight in eyes of a human? Enjoy its warmth as I lie down in a beach with my mate, whispering sweet nothings as we share kisses? Telling him-_

_Wait, who said it's a he?_

Since my great-times-a-million uncle Apollo is shining annoyingly bright in the sky. Well, it's only half-seven, I've no other choice but to stay in my wolf form and growl silently. Had I a Squire with me, he would be busy getting all my necessities for me.

  " _What you look for is often found in the worst, unimaginable way possible. You want to know if you'll ever find your mate, Liam? The answer you're looking for is more than what you want to know,"_  the former leader of the Dark-Hunters told me once when he trained me after my transition. " _The gods didn't damn you, you damned yourself when you became my brother, a Dark-Hunter. Your family may be forbidden to talk to you ever again by the Omegrion's decree but they'll never stop caring about you. We're all fucked up in our own way but we're also allowed to create our own destiny. It's the future you create that matters, not your past."_ _  
_

_But does that mean my mate is another bloke or a random girl I'll shag? Fates damned me before my birth and it sure sucks a lot of balls that I can't procreate with my body being dead..._

May the gods above grant me dreamless sleep.

~*~

  " _Now now, little wolf, we aren't going to do anything to you..."  
_

 _I find myself tied up to the tree, with my hands above my head, naked other than the rough-feeling trousers. There are freshly cut welts all over my chest from their daggers, as I'm helpless with the_  metrioza _collar binding my powers. I growl when one of the Daimons come close to my face, and I successfully bite his nose. I let out a triumphant howl-like laughter when I smell blood. In retaliation, he bites into my bicep, creating yet another bleeding wound._

_"Think you can outpower us, little wolf? Liam is it?" The leader of the pack asks Andy, whose unfaltering eyes gaze into my seething contemptuous brown ones as he nods. "I give you my word that I won't kill your tessera for, say, four years. Seems like he's a strong soul for everyone."_

_"Go to hell, you son of a bitch," I growl at Andy. "Is this why you decided to befriend me? To hand me over to the fucking leeches? After centuries of friendship?"_

_"I haven't a clue what you're talking about, Payne. You were too innocent to realise I only wanted you for your body, not as a packmate, or even a friend. I never loved you."_

_Even after I've visited visited this memory a hundred times before, his words pierce through my heart, tearing it into tiny little unmendable pieces. The wolf in my demands I rip that bastard's heart out with my own teeth._

_The human in me, the heart my mum gave me as an Arcadian Lykos, tells me to take revenge on every living relative he has, give him the same pain he's caused me._

_It's great to know both the animal and human in me wanted revenge on him._

_The scene changes to that night where my essence, my soul, spirit, whatever you call it, was brought to the Nether Realm. The demons were more than thrilled to have a Katagari Lykos in their world, his powers completely drained, defenseless. I heard Nicola and Ruth's voices telling me to hold on when the goddess appeared._

_Standing at over six feet, the goddess of moon, hunting, childbirth and night looked ethereal. Surreal to exist on this realm, or any other realms._

_"Liam Payne, your sisters did a great job on killing the Daimons," she began, her white Greek gown standing too starkly pale in this dark realm. "As we speak, all pieces of your soul is now back in your body."_

_"But that's not the reason you're here, Artemis. You wish me become one of your Dark-Hunters," I grit out, trying my best not to leap out, feeling my powers rushing back inside my body, surging. "And the answer's no."_

_"You can kill Andy, the one who betrayed you. Your body is still dead, it's your soul that wanders in this realm and the mortal realm."_

_The scene changes again to where I stand in fronf of Andy, his eyes wide from fear._

_"Liam, please don't do this to me!" He begs me like a pathetic piece of sod he is. "I'm your best friend!"_

_"Best friends don't sell each other off."_

_My sword draws an arc in the air, beheading my so-called best mate._

_My first lover._

  I wake up, completely drenched in sweat from re-experiencing the horrid memories my subconscience choose to visit when I'm at my weakest form. Well, I  _would_  be drenched in sweat if I were Arcadian. I just have a bad headache I was capable of having as a Dark-Hunter and PPO  **(A/N Perpetually pissed off)**  state. Only gods above know how much of a morning person I used to be as a wolf.

   _But you're also human._

  Curse the human rationale I have, that's one single thing I hate about my existence. I was foolish enough to make a deal with the ginger bitch who tempted me.

  As a goddess, she sure knows how to subterfuge.

  And aggravate me into point of self-loathing.

  Without the sunlight in my way, I change forms into that of a human, and fix myself something to eat. One of the many downsides as a Were-Hunter is that I have a fairly fast metabolism and there's another downside of not being able to eat chocolate as a wolf.

_"I really want to kill you for not sharing my love for Nutella, it's a shame mate," Harry once told me during our phonecall. "How is it that chocolate's lethal to your kind? Why couldn't you be a dragon?"_

_"Were I a Drakos, your body would be disembowled by now," I joked, curling my lips into a smirk. "But with you as my only friend, I suppose I'd let you live, Harooooold."_

_"You're older than I! You were five hundred years old when you became a DH!"_

_"No, I was four hundred seventy-eight when I was betrayed and that was about two centuries ago," I replied, feeling extremely old. "So I'm six hundred thirty-eight now."_

**(A/N Liam and Harry met at New Orleans during Mardi Gras in 1975, and Liam's DOB is August 29th 1275 in this fic.)**

  "I miss you, Harry..." I whisper into the night air, knowing Harry can't hear me. "And I'm sorry I nearly killed you, clouded by the prejudice against Daimons."

  Only the deserted, cold winter night breeze answers me. 

~*~

  Dressed in black skinnys, black tee and black leather jacket - and black leather gloves but that's not really the point - I head out for my nightly patrol. My weapon of choice, a dagger I hide in my arm sleeve, is concealed as I scan the area. Surprisingly enough, I only sense a small group of Daimons within a mile's radius.

  I flash myself to their location and all of their head cock at my presence. Good to know my Were-Hunter powers attract them still.

  "Looky 'ere, we go' ourselves a feckin' Were!" One of the Daimons say in his thick Scottish accent. "An' he's also a Dark-Hunter. Pi'y we can' drain him as take his soul."

  "Shut up, Alec," the female of the party growls at this Alec. 

  "Your chitchat bores me," is all I say before I take my dagger out of its sheath that's attached to my wrist by a band and stab Alec through his chest, disintergrating him into Daimon dust. "Anyone else who wants to try enlightening me?"

  The female Daimon lunges at me and I catch her mid-air, my hands gripping her shoulder before I plunge the blade through her chest as well. She lets out an earsplitting scream before she, too, explodes into dust and frees the souls she's taken before they expired.

  The remaining two Daimons look at each other, looking uncertain. 

  "Your mum forgot to mention that you aren't the baddest thing at night, Liam." An unfamiliar voice addresses me and I have four seconds before someone suspends me mid-air, making me drop my dagger. The Scot Daimons opens boltholes and escape, not before snickering at me.

  My body screams at me to revert to my base form and kill the bastard who is keeping me captive while the human rationale tells me to keep calm and see what this new Daimon's up to. The wolf in me tells me that this one is not an average Daimon and the Dark-Hunter part of me confirms that. I don't feel any new souls he's taken into his body but the power emitting from him... it's like that of a god.

  "I'm gonna have fun killing you, Payne."

   _Great, this one's a telepath._ _  
_

"Heard that too, babe."

  This newcomer has an Irish accent, very prominent, and he dares flash himself in front of me. He's short for an Apollite, standing at around five-eight, but his eyes... they're burning twin flames of red that befits him eerily. Like any other Daimons, he is blond but he has dark blond roots that can't be seen even by humans around us. Dressed in black chinos, black Supras and black band shirt whose name I don't recognise, he looks intimidating...

  Desirable.

  His pale pink lips curl into a smirk, probably from my thoughts he can hear.

  "You find me desirable, babe? Too bad-"

  I choose his distraction as my advantage and free myself from his hold, and at the same time, changing back to my wolf form.

   _Worry about the human news about a man changing into a wolf later, kill this Irish bitch first,_ I think to myself as I launch myself at the Irish Daimon, pinning his small frame under my 200-pound wolf form.

**Niall's POV**

_Feck'n wolves!_  I curse oh-so-colourfully as Liam, the Were-Hunter / Dark-Hunter lunges at me in his base form of a large European timber wolf. At least I think he's a timber wolf. His silvery-brown pelt is beautfiul as he tries to sink his teeth into my -  _HELL NO!_

  Adrenaline pumping through my veins from this fight, I use telekinesis to suspend Liam's body mid-air again.

  The wolf growls and snarls at me as he is in the air when it hits me like a sledgehammer.

  A desire I never felt before.

  Liam recovers from my assault and leaps at me again, paw-first. I sidestep and give him my own growl, bracing myself as I wrap my arms around the wolf's midsection, landing hard on my back.

  He must have felt it to because next minute, he is back in his human form, clad in the same outfit I've seen him minutes before, and crashes his plump lips down to mine. The sudden action gives takes me by surprise but I find myself kissing him back with all the hunger I feel for him. Trapped underneath his toned body, his chest tightly pressed against my own, I let him take control of our kiss, his tongue parting my lips effortlessly.

   _What am I doing?_  Liam's thought echoes my own, as I feel his hard-

  Okay, time for breaks.

  I roll us over so that I'm atop his body, his bulge pressed to right where my bum is; not a good thing. Liam looks at me with confusion and lust filled eyes, that look way too puppylike for my liking. He starts to sit up, only to realise that will cause his erection to press farther into my arse.

  "Who the fuck are you?" The brunet asks me.

  "Your death," I answer truthfully before reattaching our lips together, growling at the taste of peppermint and citrus. Gods, I can't make myself not kiss this Dark-Hunter for some reason. He's the definition of perfect seduction.

  Liam growls against my lips, a sound that's already familiar to me, and pries my lips apart the same way he did few seconds ago, only this time he's letting me take control of the kiss. Our tongues tangle in a frenzied passion, his gloved hand cupping my jaw. He's strong, given that he's a wolf, and the way he kisses me is absolutely animalistic.

  Primal.

  He ruts his hips up, his fully hard dick prodding my arse and I let out an involuntary moan, causing all my blood to rush to the centre of my body. I should kill him before things get messy but why am I letting Liam thrust his hips up against my arse, hearing his pleasure-filled moans?

  We aren't doing as much as kissing each other now, we're simply breathing in each other's air, kissing with zero finesse.

  "Fuck you." I groan against his lips before I teleport myself away from the wolf-were. My breaths are coming out in short ragged huffs, my hands bracing against the cold tiled wall. The Soar has always been welcoming and with that snogging session with Liam, I need to clear my head a little.

   _Or not.._.

  There's a Katagari in the bar, someone I've never seen before. His obviously dyed-blond hair has blue streaks in it and he's pale.

  Not to mention tall.

  He looks taller than Liam by the way he leans against a wall, his pale, cold, electric blue eyes gazing right into mine. Letting me know he's watching me and knows who and what exactly I am. He flicks his tongue out, giving me a glimpse of his tongue piercing. He's wearing a pair of dark skinnys, dark teal tee topped with a black Varsity jacket. The animal inside him, quite literally, reels me in.

   _Demigod, am I not correct?_  The new Were-Hunter headpops me  **(A/N telepathic communication, slang from the series)**. His voice is what I would describe as tenor, bordering on alternate soprano. And he sounds American.  _I can smell that disgusting dog you've just been with. Tell you what,_ Nialler _, ditch this bar with me and I can show you things you never thought were possible._

_Is that a promise? You're a Were, babe. I can easily suck your soul from you and kill you afterwards. I killed Dark-Hunters before, killing a Were can't be much harder._

_Arrogance, I like that shit. A turn on if you ask_ _me._  The Were-Hunter retorts, a smirk curling the corner of his lips.  _For the record, I'm a leopard-were, not a fucking human. Meet me at the back alley in three, I'll show you_ everything _you need to see._

   _I don't need three fecking minutes, I'll have my way right now._

  For reasons that are bugging the hell out of me, I can't read the leopard's thoughts and he seems to know that. Next thing I know, the Were has me pinned to a wall, with Aria's eyes watching our every move. He cups my jaw roughly before his lips slant against mine, giving me time to push him away.

  I don't.

  Using my demigod powers, I flash us to one of the cheap motel rooms that are on the second floor of The Soar, earning a surprised hiss from the older lad. He looks like he's in his mid-or-late twenties, which can translates into around four to five centuries in human years. His surprise subsides (that much I can sense from him) before he crashes his lips to mine again, this time full of lust and hunger. He actually has to snap his neck down to kiss me, which I find frustrating. I just press my palms into the back of his neck and push his head down, kissing him furiously. He returns the same passion, nipping at my lower lip with his teeth before swiping his tongue across the seam of my lips. His hands find their way to my arse and start to knead it roughly, growls, low purrs resonating from him as I feel his bulge against my hip.

  "I can show you how better a leopard can be as a lover, Niall..." he purrs in my ear after pulling away from the snog, one of his hand slipping into the waistband of my briefs, no hesitance before his warm fingers touch my bare buttock. "But I can also show you how a panther takes his bitch."

  "Divided heritage, I get that shite. Would also be lovely if you drop the mind veil around your head, mate," I growl out when his fingertip ghosts my entrance. "If you're going to be a feck'n tease, I  _will_  suck your blood and drain you dry."

  "Oh no, this is about sex, not your dirty, macho I'm-a-demigod-Daimon speech. I hate your  _eau de loup_  but do the math, Nialler. You need a release, so do I," the Were's teeth tug at my earlobe, his voice silky and laced with sexual promises. "Lemme show you."

  I give him my response with actions. He's right about needing a release.

  So I flash our clothes off, blushing when I feel his hard dick pressing to my hipbone. He only tongues my earlobe, then showers one side of my face and neck with tender kisses, nuzzling my skin with his soft lips. There's a lot of things that are tender with his actions, backed by his confidence. He purrs against my jugular before nipping at the erratically beating pulse there with his canines, sending chills down my spine. I feel one of his hands moving from my arse to wrap his arms around my waist, our body compacted. Shite, what does this guy know about seduction?

  "More than a fucking Daimon who turned only four months ago," he mumbles against my lips; when were they back here? "I had centuries of practise, darling."

  For some reason, that makes me feel jealous.

  "Just fuck me, I thought that was the point in this?" Going by instinct, I kick my legs up, encircling the leopard/panther's waist with them, causing our hard ons to rub against one another. Needlessly to say, we both moan in unison. "No teasin', just fuck me and get over with it."

  "Impatient Irish git," the Katagari kisses his way across my shoulder, to where two snow-white teardrop tattoos lay. "Are these for your..?"

  "Me Ma and best mate Josh."

  His face freezes for a moment when I mention Josh Devine, my childhood "bff" who went Daimon before his twentieth and got killed by a Dark-Hunter soon after. I cried for a solid day when I heard of the news.

  "Your name's Josh, innit?"

  Josh answers by slamming me harder against the wall, force of his action from my shoulder blades connecting with it echoing in the room. "That's the only thing you'll remember from me other than your sore ass." He flashes us to the double-bed in the room, his naked skinny, lanky form hovering over me. "Do you want me to take you like a leopard or a panther, babe? Or a man if you don't prefer bestiality?"

  "None of those, prove you're a better shag than a wolf."

  That seems to have broken his barrier cos next thing I know, I'm flipped onto my stomach, followed by Josh's hands pulling me up on all four. His thigh nudges my legs apart the same time his hand slide up to my chest to force me in an upright position, his front pressed to my back.

  "Your choices are extremely limited," Josh hisses into my ear. He drives me into all the way to the hilt at one go, making me cuss from the sudden fullness. He doesn't give me any time to adjust; he just drives into me.

  Wild, that's the only way of describing how he slams repeatedly against my prostate, his teeth nipping at my shoulder. He thrusts at a fast, furious pace, craning my head to the side to mash our lips together. And when his hand snake around to jerk me off in time of his strokes, it's too much and I release onto his fist. He releases deep inside me, with a screech of my name.

  Last thing I remember before I plummet forward, loosing all strength I'd and drift off to sleep, is an odd rumbling sound that sounds dangerously close to a purr.

~*~

  I don't know how much time passed by but when I wake up, I can sense that it's morning. Fuck, I have to get back to my flat.

  But Josh's base form catches my eye. His black pelt looks soft, marked by even darker flecks. He did mention his parents being a leopard and a panther. Just how bitchy are the Fates if they mated two different cats together?

  " _I can still hear your thoughts, y'know..."_  Josh's voice echoes inside my head, which I find annoying. How can he headpop me and I can't even read his thoughts as a demigod? I'm supposed to be more powerful than he! " _And FYI, my mother was a Katagari pantheress. Like a typical of her kind, she left me with my father, the very leopard you mentioned, oh, I dunno, forty seven seconds ago. He raised me and my sisters, thank the gods my parents didn't have more kids."_

  "Will you stop communicating with me in my head? I can't even feck'n reach inside your head the way I want t'."

  His only response is a suspiciously laughter-like rumblings from his throat, his feline body trembling from the force. It takes me a couple minutes to realise he's bloody  _purring_. One second, he's a black leopard and next, he's the same tall chav, sat on the bed with a cocky grin. He quickly flashes a pair of skinnys on himself and inclines his head.

  "My apologies, Niall. I only knocked you out with my powers since I didn't want you to, say, drain me and kill me in my sleep. Kinda sucks to die after four centuries," Josh stretches his arms in  a slow, methodic way, his lips stretching into a catlike yawn. "You were a fantastic fuck by the way, if that helps."

  "No it does not. Part of me wonders how the wolf-were would have done it," I hiss out the words, baring my fangs at him. "He sure had more muscles."

  "I'm out and heading back to  _Canada_ , babe. Home sweet home. Oh, try not to get killed by the Squires before sunset."

  Josh disappears from my sight, maybe for good.

~*~

**Liam's POV**

Without a second thought, I find myself changing into my human form, pressing my lips against the Daimon's. There's a desire I've never felt before gnawing at me and I give in. He lets out a started gasp but kisses me back nonetheless. Effortlessly, I nudge his lips apart, kissing him with wild passion.

   _What am I doing?_  The sane part of me asks myself.

  He flips us over soon after, straddling my waist with his arse right over where my straining cock is at.

  "Who are you?"

  "Your death." The Daimon replies before reattaching our lips together. I let him take control of this kiss and I feel myself being more aroused from it. I rut my hips into his, or try, when he mumbles "fuck you" and flashes away, leaving me cursing and hard from our snog.

  I can't even blame my wolf for my actions, even my human rationale my mum gifted me with knows there's something about that Daimon. Is this how Harry felt with Zayn? Is this why he could never kill Zayn every time he confronted him?

   _I want more than just a kiss and half a grind. Something more intimate._

_You're also supposed to kill his kind, gods, Harry should've just killed Zayn on the spot._

  Feeling defeated, I flash myself back to my house, and log on to Dark-Hunter website, and sure enough, Harry messaged me. 

**From Harry**

**are you going to murder me if I told you something?**

Ignoring my boner, I type in a reply.

**To Harry**

**since i nearly murderd u last nite, i guess i wont**

  He doesn't reply and I assume, and probably is the truth that, Zayn is tending to his wounds. Why Harry took a death blow for the Daimon, is that the same reason why I feel this connection with that short Daimon?

  " _Your salvation wasn't there to begin with,"_  Another one of Acheron's words flash through my mind.  _"Believe me_  adelfos _, be grateful that Artemis brought you back. If you died that night, your destiny would've changed. Forget that Andy betrayed you, that might as well as be the best thing that ever happened to you."_

  "Damn you, Acheron! Why must you play the Oracle and mindfuck us all the time?"

  Knowing the answer won't be given without a price, I force myself to let sleep take over me.

~*~

  Blissfully, I didn't have any nightmarish memories visiting me in my sleep. I thank D'Irina silently, knowing the Dream-Huntress  **(A/N Greek gods of sleep, Dream-Hunter for males. Basically, some Dream-Hunters are assigned to a DH for healing and having their dreams monitored)**.

  The...  _connection_  I felt with that Irish Daimon... it can't be the same I felt with Andy... he did tell me he used me for sex, which I, to this date, I find nefarious. How dare he play with my feelings? Why didn't I listen to the human side of me that questioned his loyalty?

  I flash some clothes on myself, (after I change into a human, of course) and retrieve the dagger from the bedside table. It's not exactly a smart thing to have your weapon of choice  _right_ beside you for a Daimon to walk in and stab you in your sleep but hey, I almost died when that demigod-slash-Daimon attacked me.

  It's an unwritten law that all Dark-Hunters try to dress  _intimidating_  and the wolf in me agrees with that. There's no fun in killing a pansy Daimon dressed like those hippies in the 1960's and the 70's.

  I do miss the clothes from the era I was born, known as the Middle Ages now. Ah, the scared mortals who were aware of the supernaturals that walked amongst them...

  The ex Dark-Hunter Talon, who's now an immortal, that lucky sodding bastard, did visit the highlands once and I came across with his path once. Since I was in my wolf form at the time, he doesn't remember that at all. As a chieftain, or whatever he was, he was known even to Katagari patrias as a great leader, and all the other stuff that came with it

   _Now how does he have I ever wanted?_

~*~

  Like any other typical January night, it's freezing and there are no signs of Daimons, which is unusual. Ever since I was transferred to Bradford a week ago, I got used to the routine of waking up, shifting, getting dressed, and setting out for a patrol. 

   _I really to miss time times Daimons had put up more of a fight... and if that demigod is any indication, I'm in deep shit trouble._ _  
_

_More than you already are for walking in two different worlds?_

  "Why, Artemis? Why did you offer me the bargain that night?" I shout out at her in anger, glaring up at the moon.

  But I already know the answer and that's simple; gods never traffic with mortals without wanting something in return. They trick us,  _deceive_  us, for their own good.

  Finding not a single Daimon in sight, I find myself headed to a bar to grab something to eat when I spot a certain blond. He's too occupied with the girl he's snogging the life out of (oh, how true my words are) and I see him cupping her arse, pressing his body against hers.

  PDA much?

  Deciding he's had enough fun, I flash into my base form and trot towards him.

   **Niall's POV** **  
**

That sex with Josh leaves me thinking when I was confronted by Liam, another Katagari I felt the desire with. As animals, both Arcadians and Katagari are magnets to any hormone-driven creatures (gods excluded, they have their own fucked up league) and maybe that's all I had with Josh.

  But the connection I felt with Liam?

  I close my eyes and concentrate on locating where Liam could possibly be. My powers, as they're still developing, tell me that he's in Bradford but I can't quite grasp where  _exactly_  he is.

_Fuck, I just want to know I can't kill him yet._

I find a pedophile in the dark alleys near the London Eye and he tries to get me to his house.

  "I can assure you nothin' bad's gonna happen to ya," he smiles in a disgustingly bright way, thinking I was in my late teens. "I'll just show y'round." 

  "But you'll stay in this alley for now, won't you?" I corner him, pressing him up against a wall. "And don't scream."

  I sink my fangs into his neck, a person too hypnotised to do anything against his own will. Draining him is quick and when I press his bloodless body to mine, I absorb his soul and close my eyes as his voice starts ringing inside my head.

  "Feck'n souls," I mutter to myself before I flash myself to Bradford, more out of curiosity what Liam was doing than killing some Dark-Hunters. From the Kalosis.com, it's pretty evident that Daimons moved from Bradford after Liam's dispatch and I know there's another Dark-Hunter here.

  He's my target.

  I spot a brunette with medium build and quite tall, her lips painted a bright bubble gum pink colour. When her eyes drift off to where I'm standing, corner of her mouth tilts into a smile and she wastes no time in stalking towards me (there's no other way of describing how she walks) with a haughty smile.

  "You look new around here, babe," her vibrant blue eyes - contacts? - stare into my ocean blue as she rakes her eyes up and down my body, sizing me up. "What are you doing up so late?"

  "Looking for a pretty face like you and it seems my luck isn't so bad after all," I press her up against a wall and slot our lips together, tilting her head up for a better angle. She kisses me back, thinking I'm looking for a quick one night stand and she got lucky.

  Oh, how she doesn't know how  _opposite_  our situation really is.

  I grab her thigh and wrap her leg around my waist, licking at the space between her slightly parted lips. She gasps into the kiss, obliging to my silent request as I start to grind up against her. She kisses me passionately, tangling our tongues together when I hear a bark.

  Annoyed and thinking it's a stray dog, I ignore the mangy thing when the girl pulls away from the kiss and coos at the intruder. Huffing, I set her back on the ground and turn around to check who decided to interrupt me.

  As soon as I catch a glimpse of a silvery-brown pelt, I curse inside my head.

   _Fecking wolf,_  I project inside his head, knowing he can hear me.  _Go away now before I kill you._ _  
_

"It's a wolf-dog!" The brunette kneels onto the ground, her passion and lust now gone. "Do you think he won't hurt us? Look at how cute he is!"

  "It's a bloody wolf, he'll kill us if provoked."  _And I can bet you a hundred quid he'll try to rip my jugular out._  "C'mon, babe, let's just-"

  Liam wags his tail, thrusting his head into the girl's outstretched hand, who lets out an excited squeal. "I told you he's a wolf-dog!"

  "I guess he is,"  _what are you doing here?_  I send another projection, which he ignores and licks her chin. _Why are you pretending to be a lost, stray dog?_

 _Oh c'mon, love. She's an uninitiated, I can't just kill you. Why don't you ditch her so that I can finish you off?_  He barks physically, his oversized paws resting atop the girl's shoulders now. Someone had practice acting like a real dog.

  "Why would I do that?" I curse aloud when I realise I've said that outloud. I turn to face the girl and tap into my still-developing demigod powers. "Go home, we snogged until a stray dog interrupted us. I got hurt and you ran away before anything else happened." She nods dutifully, straightening her cloths before going off somewhere.

  "Now would be a wonderful time to show me your sexy human form," I smirk at the wolf-were, who snarls to show me his canines. No pun intended. "If I kill you in your animal form, and someone sees me, that would be considered wildlife creatures abuse. I hate humans with a passion so be a dear and shift into your better looking form."

_Shit, did I just admit him being attractive?_

_Aw, you find my sexy. I should just spare you, even though I still want to tear you into pieces with my teeth and claws._

  "Leeeeeyuuuuum," he flinches when I drawl out his name. "From last night, surely you know you can't kill me like a typical Daimon you hunt? I am not like the others from my bretheren, I'm  _invincible_ , babe."

  Enought foreplay, I'm just gonna kill this wolf. I use my telekinesis to lift him aboveground again, causing him to twist mid-air, his jaws snapping in fury. As per expected, he resumes his human form and I curse when I see his alternate form.

  Like the night before, his slightly tanned skin with eyes that give him puppylike features (pun  _fully_ intended), his jaw shadowed by two days' worth of stubble and light brown hair that is long just enought to have someone's hand buried into... 

  Shite, am I seriously considering this 'Hunter attractive?

  And just like the night before, he uses my momentary hesitation to charge at me, forgetting our proximity triggers the lust. Only this time, his jaws snap around my neck successfully, his paws firmly planted on my chest.

   _He's gonna bloody decapitate me._  I realise with a fraction of fear washing over me.

  With all the strength I could muster, and a screeching scream, I push him off of my body with my powers, immediately pressing my hand to my bleeding neck. The wounds are deep and since he was putting all his force into his teeth, I'm guessing my neck tendons and whatnot are probably severed and shite. How I'm still alive, the answer has to be the fact that I'm not human.

  A mortal would die from bloodloss and since Daimons  _can_  die from bloodloss if not replenished, I flash away from Liam.

~*~

  I wipe at my mouth as the burglar goes limp in my body, his blood coursing through my body, renewing my powers. Ritualistically, I press his chest to mine, absorbing his soul. Well, I already had a soul tonight but hey, never a bad thing to have backup souls (is that even a thing?) inside my body.

  Thank the gods Liam didn't track me down with his wolf senses. Stupid dogs and their exceptional scent-tracking skills. Next time I see him, I  _will_  kill him.

  My feet find their way back to The Soar and Aria arches a brow at me when she sees me, which isn't a good sign. Great, she wants to know what happened between me and the Dark-Hunter I killed last night. Against my better judgement, I heed to her and follow her to the staff room for her  _limami_.

  "Aria, I thought you knew everything about me," I say in an emotionless tone, earning a glare from the Were-Falcon. "Did I really leave out the fact that I'm a demigod?"

  "Yes you did, you bleeding git!" Her eyes flash with anger, clearly bothered by the fact that I left out the most important fact about me. "Had I known you were a demigod Daimon, I wouldn't be surprised by the fact that you go around killing your sworn enemies. Nialler," she places one pale hand over my shoulder and I try not to shrug it off. She meant it as a friendly gesture. "I don't know your godly parent and I don't know what he told you but you can never trust the gods."

  With that, she leaves me alone in the room.

   _Ah, that's the one you call your best, isn't she?_ The voice of the Daimon is back inside my head and I mentally scowl at him.  _She's genuinely concerned about your well-being. A friendship between a Were and a Daimon... what an unexpected, precious little thing._

 _Go away, you fecking bastard! Get out of my head!_  I earn a chuckle from the Daimon.  _If you're the leader of the Daimons like you claim, you should show me yourself._

   _Little Nialler, you should learn that that wolf isn't your biggest problem. I'll tell you one thing; tomorrow night, I'll send you one of my Illuminati warriors where you and the wolf first met._

  The presence I felt lifts, leaving me completely alone, other than the lingering sense of someone watching me. I need some drinks. And memory bleaches.

  I walk out of the room and spot a dark brunette dressed like a Gothic girl and even from the distance - plus my enhanced nightvision - I can see the rose and skull tattoo on her left forearm. I can tell she's short, judging by how her dainty legs are off the bar stool, and her lips look full even here.

  And she's not a mortal. I can sense her powers from here, clashing against my own.

   _Since she's not blonde, I can check her off the list of Daimons or Apollites..._   _The question is, who is she?_

  "Staring is rude, you know," the girl creeped up on me, which shouldn't be possible, a smirl curving her full lips. "Aria tells me you're a demigod, with the curse of Apollo."

  "Yeah, there are plenty of demigod Daimons, or there used to be back in the olden days," I smirk back at her, flashing my fang pointedly. "And how are you aware of the supernaturals, babe?"

  "I'm one. Just barely, but still counts as one."

  "That calls for shots and a lovely story."

~*~

  So, about an hour later, I learn that the lovely Jesy - she revealed her name soon after, didn't take much booze, I tell ya - is a half-demoness, but still immortal, thank her father's side. Other half is quite obviously human but she's actually twenty four in human years so she's still grappling with her demonice powers.

  "You're telling me that you never killed a human in your life then?" Aria narrows her topaz-yellow eyes at us as she gives us another bottle. "That's so boring, babe."

  "Well, it's tempting sometimes but I don't suppose my mum would like that," she giggles - halflings have normal human tolerance? - as she replies. "I'm surprised you didn't kill  _me_  yet though."

  "And why would I kill Aria's friend?"

  "Because Daimons have been killing demons to gain the ability of walking in daylight."

  Now I know she's proper pissed.

  "We all know that's impossible, babe. Apollites are damned to live outside of Apollo's domain since someone had to piss him of many millennia ago," I take a swig of my rum when Jesy laughs at my comment. "We're not called cursed for nothing."

  "All the curses come with a loophole,  _babe,_ " Jesy waves at Aria to stop giving us refills. "My demon friends have been hiding and fleeing from Daimons ever since they starting hunting us down for our ability to walk in sunlight. Not to mention our demonic powers." And now she seems to realise what she just told me because as the reflection of my reddening eyes mirrors in her green ones, horror dawns on her face.

  "I'd love to try that out but I already took a soul this eve, Jess. Consider today your lucky day; night, whatever." I add quickly when her thoughts form inside her head.

  She just gawks at me as I exit the club, waving my hand at her dismissively.

   _The question is, should I actually drink from a demon?_

 _You finally figured that out, didn't you?_  The Daimon's voice is back inside my head and I can picture him smirking at me.  _I already sent my Illuminati to collect you. We shall meet soon, Niall._

   _Hold on, you still have yet to explain who this Illuminati is! I don't have a fecking clue who you are, or why you're interested in me so much!_

  Surprisingly enough, he doesn't leave my head and answers me.  _I am Stryker, leader of your kind,_ our _kind. Illuminati are my personal guards and since you're an another Daimon with godly powers, not to mention having Camulus in your favour, you intrigue me._  

  With that, the presence vanishes and my eyes focus onto three blond "humans", all with bloodred eyes. Needless to say, I found the Illuminati.

   **Liam's POV**

  Harry and I had a little rendezvous so he could return my dagger to him with a begrudging "you nearly killed me, you ball licker!" and "please try not to kill my Zayn, I know I have no intention of turning back human and he wants to live with me for rest of eternity. I know I'm asking too much but Liam, he's my bloody soulmate!", you name it. I promised Harry not to kill Zayn since he's the only friend I really have after becoming a Dark-Hunter and he actually hugged me when I gave him my vow.

  Such a human thing to do that I never expericenced in my long, damned life. I awkwardly put my arms around the other Dark-Hunter. He handed my dagger back and now I'm stood outside my house, the blade hidden in my sleeve.

   _I have to kill that Daimon if I see him again but why does it feel like he'll be the one who will do the killing?_  I muse to myself as I look up at the moon. It's almost full and the animal inside me is drawn to its pull.

  Oh, what I'd do to become a Were-Hunter again, without the duties of a Dark-Hunter... 

  I damned myself like Acheron told me.

   _"_ _You aren't going to tell the other Dark-Hunters that I may be cohorting with a Daimon, are you? Please, Liam. You know I'd be exiled if you do like Zarek once were!" Harry begged me earlier this night._

_"Relax, Haz. I think I found myself in similar situation... only he's sort of different."_

_"Do what your heart desires, Liam. Sometimes, even your rationale has to obey to your heart's desires."_

  Replaying that scene inside my head didn't really help me with my  _problem_. It won't change the bloody fact that he's a Daimon and I'm a Dark-Hunter; I've sworn to kill his kind and just because Harry found himself a Daimon lover doesn't mean he's pardoned.

   _Do what my heart desires? It wants to shag him senseless, kiss every inch of his pale skin all over until I can't remember my own name! Find out whether he's my mate or not, and then claim him as mine! Wait, did I just say "mate"?_

  It's possible I was drawn to him because he's my mate but not even the fates could be  _that_  cruel. The whole point of having a mate is to procreate and start a family, I can't have another bloke as my mate!

  But as rest of the night passes, my thoughts are clouded by why I don't come across him, and a part of me wishes I saw him.

~*~

  It's been a week since the last time I saw  _him_  and a part of me starts to worry. What if Harry managed to kill him and didn't tell me? Does Harry even suspect I feel some kind of connection for a Daimon? There's only a handful of Daimons left in Bradford area due to another addition of Dark-Hunter (me) and Daimons hate a city overly crowded by Dark-Hunters.

  And if they spread a rumour saying the new Dark-Hunter is also a Were-Hunter... well, let's just say the odds are in my favour. No sane Daimons fancy getting ripped apart by animal's claws and teeth.

  Patrolling a dimly lit street has never been my favourite but I'm doing it nonetheless, looking out for any signs of Daimons. Part of me briefly wonders if the migration of Daimons will effect my pay but my boss is a goddess, she can just materialise anything as she wishes. It's not coming out of her own bank account or anything like that.

  I locate a Daimon near a pub and I waste no time in teleporting in front of her to kill her. A quick stab in her chest and she's gone.

  Is this all my life will be? Track down a Daimon and kill them, repeat until the entire Daimon species is eradicated? Will I ever find pleasure with someone who's  _mine_  and willing to stand by me as my equal?

   _And the only chance of having that is finding a mate... if that's possible as someone who's soulless, that is._

  A big part of me wonders if that Daimon, who I admittedly was attracted to, were to be my mate, when he's a bloke and my mate's supposed to be female. But the fates of their own fucked up way with determining our fate.

  I flash myself to Harry's house and regret immediately when I'm greeted by moans echoing throughout the house. I have a shitty timing whenever I meet him, great.

  I walk up to his room - it's easy to track down his scent that's laced with sexual desires and other things I can't begin to name - and politely knock on his bedroom door. I hear a mumbled "I'll be back soon, babe" and footsteps towards the door. Frustrated green eyes (how'd he lose his Dark-Hunter powers? What's his out clause?) narrow onto me and I wave my hand at him.

  "If I still had my powers, I'd be smiting you with a bolt of lightning," he gives me a blank threat, a blanket wrapped around his waist, not fully hiding his obvious hard-on. "In case your wonderful heightened animal senses couldn't detect it, I was busy."

  "Yeah, shagging with someone who you're supposed to kill," I hear a loud scoff in the background and note to myself that he can very well hear me. "Can you be civil and dressed so we can talk like to humans?" Another scoff from Zayn. "And tell your lover boy to stop scoffing at me. It's rude." The response is yet another scoff.

  Couple minutes later, a barely-dressed Harry (only in his tracksies) and half-asleep, fully-clothed Zayn comes out of the room, both scowling at me. Probably from me interrupting an obvious about-to-be lay.

  "Nice to meet you again, Zayn. You already know I promised Harry not to kill you, even though I'm supposed to," he flips me off, obviously too sleepy to do anything else. "I just have a question."

  "Well, how do you expect us to answer when you nearly killed  _my_  Harry couple of weeks ago whilst trying to kill me?" It's becoming obvious Zayn holds grudge against me. "And if you weren't a Dark-Hunter, I'd be sucking your soul out to use your powers as my own."

  "Aw, Zaynie, I think you love Harry too much to do that," Harry gives Zayn a sucking kiss on his neck. "Anyways, I want information on a Daimon. Without the two of you having sex with clothes on, that is." I add quickly when Zayn retaliates by nibbling on Harry's earlobe.

  "Wolf, I turned a month ago. Louis, my new mate that got killed couple weeks ago, was the only other Daimon I knew unless you count George and Jaymi, who  _also_  got killed," he gives me a level look, hint of angst in them.

  "Know any demigod Daimons from gossips though?" Harry's eyes snap up at the mention of a demigod Daimon on the loose. Some of our brothers in New Orleans had to deal with one several years ago. Stories have it that the Dark-Hunters assigned to him got killed until one who was kind of prophecied to succeed killed with help of his now-wife. 

  "There's one in the UK area though..." Zayn scratches his stubble, a sight I would find sexy if my thoughts weren't so preoccupied by a certain Daimon. "I don't know his name but he's from Ireland - figures, huh? - and that his godly parent isn't a Greek god."

  "That's really helpful, really. It's not like there are thousands of pantheons, Zayn," I narrow my eyes and growl at him, which he ignores. "But have you any idea how old he is as in when he turned?"

  "I don't know, but some sources say he was twenty one when he turned and any Dark-Hunter who was in his presence never survived..." His eyes train on me with suspicion. "You met him, didn't you?"

  "I think he might be my mate."

   **Zayn's POV**

"Oh my gods, Harry, you're so good with your mouth," I groan when his tongue flicker across the tip of my hardening length, a smirk tugging at corner of his lips. "Can we skip foreplay and go straight to me shagging your brains out?"

  "Babe, I want to ruin you before that," Harry leans down to take more of me inside his mouth when someone knocks on the door. And that's not supposed to happen. Harry hasn't a Squire and no one else lives here. "I'll be back soon, babe." He licks a stripe down my length as he trudges towards the door.

  We were snogging and since both of us just woke up, we were conveniently both naked and something made his eyes change colours to vibrant jade green. He explained that every Dark-Hunter has his outclause, which drains his powers temporarily.

  "If I still had my powers, I'd smite you with a bolt of lightning," he hisses at the person. "In case your heightened animal senses couldn't detect it, I was busy." 

  "Yeah, shagging with someone who you're supposed to kill," comes a smug reply and the voice is quite familiar.

  The person who tried to kill Harry. From what he told me, Liam, his best friend, is a Were/Dark-Hunter who was betrayed four hundred years ago or summat.

  He comes back to our bed and tells me to get dressed again, which is a turn-off. He pulls on a pair of trackies on himself as I get dressed in jeans and a random tee. I rub at my eyes as Harry takes my hand and flash us downstairs.

  "Nice to meet you again, Zayn," a bloke who is dressed in what I describe as "vampire attire" greets me. "You already know I promised Harry not to kill you even though I'm supposed to." I flip him off, feeling too groggy to do anything else. "I just have a question."

  "Well, how do you expect us to answer when you nearly killed  _my_  Harry couple of weeks ago whilst trying to kill me?" I bare my fangs at him, which he ignores. "And if you weren't a Dark-Hunter, I'd be sucking your soul out to use your powers as my own."

  "Aw, Zaynie, I think you love Harry too much to do that," Harry chooses that moment to kiss my neck sloppily with tongue and all. I respond with nibbling at his earlobe. "Anyways, I want information on a Daimon. Without the two of you having sex with clothes on, that is." 

  "Wolf, I turned a month ago. Louis, my new mate that got killed couple weeks ago, was the only other Daimon I knew unless you count George and Jaymi, who  _also_  got killed,"

  "Know any demigod Daimons from gossips though?" Liam presses on, his eyes narrowing with interest.

  "There's one in the UK area though... I don't know his name but he's from Ireland - figures, huh? - and that his godly parent isn't a Greek god."

  "That's really helpful, really. It's not like there are thousands of pantheons, Zayn," He narrows his eyes, this time from annoyance. "But have you any idea how old he is as in when he turned?"

  "I don't know, but some sources say he was twenty one when he turned and any Dark-Hunter who was in his presence never survived..." I have suspicions forming inside my head. "You met him, didn't you?"

  "I think he might be my mate."

  I start laughing, gaffawing, really, and both Dark-Hunters looks at me like I just lost my mind. I clutch onto Harry's thigh, trying to anchor myself.

  "I'm sorry, did you just tell us that you've found your mate and it's a  _he and a male?_ " I question the Daimon once I calmed down, wiping tears from my eyes. "I thought the whole idea behind having mates was that you'd be able to procreate-" I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively. "- with only one chosen person, your soulmate and shite."

  "Well, the Moirai are fucking bitches, no offense to female wolves and jackals, and decided mine is a fucking bloody demigod Daimon who tried to kill me," the way Liam says it so stoically stuns me. "So yeah, I'd really appreciate it if I had some supports."

  "I'm pretty sure he felt the - ah - attraction towards you," Harry gives me a stern look. Silently, I hope he's not gonna  _not_  finish what we were doing before we got interrupted by Liam. "And if you're done with questions, can you leave now?"

  Liam growls at us, a pure wolf sound, before he flashes away from our house.

  "Now," Harry pins me to the sofa we're sitting, my wrists captured by his large hands, his clad erection pressed to my semi. "Where were we?"

~*~

   **Niall's POV**

"You could've fecking warned me!" I yell at the other Daimons when our feet land on the ground. Well, I sort of fell, since I wasn't expecting we'd be travelling through realms and dimensions. Those bastards just scoff at me, like I'm nothing but a fluffy baby penguin. "Where the fuck are we?"

  "Kalosis," answers a deep voice that's a bit familiar to me. "You should be grateful I'm not killing you for being insolent towards my guards. Mind you, they're couple centuries years older than you are, Niall."

  "Who the fuck are you?" I raise my hand out of habit, coalescing the powers for an astral blast when I first have a glance of this stranger.

  He's tall, really bloody tall, over six-half feet, with obviously dyed-black hair. His eyes are a shade of swirling silver, which should  _not_  be his eye colour. I can sense the magnitude of powers radiating from him and that's not a good thing. The smart part of me tells me that he's a demigod. Like me, but way older and more powerful.

  "Again, I should be killing you but I'm benevolent today. My name is Strykerius but you may call me Stryker," the new bloke -  Stryker - introduces himself and his voice carries an accent that's not quite Greek. "Celt, I should've known you were a spawn of Camulus."

  "Don't insult me father, Stryker,"  _even though I'm a Daimon just because his pantheon is losing powers for lack of followers and worshippers._ "Why am I here?"

  "Because despite your attitude and young age, you're a pretty powerful demigod; one that's more powerful than Desiderius was," his lips curve into a smile when a woman sidles up to his side. 

  The new Daimon is petite, about five-six with straight long blonde hair and black eyes. She literally just waltzes in and presses a lingering kiss to Stryker's cheek like we aren't even here.

  "Baby," she croons at the demigod Daimon," you didn't tell me we were having a visitor today. I was just about to go feed without you had I not decided to track you."

  "Phyra," the love in his voice is tangible. "I didn't want to disturb you from your sleep, love. I'll be right with you when I'm done with his child, okay?" He kisses this Phyra Daimon before she vanishes into thin air. "As I was saying," he glowers at me with a promise that he'd kill me - and the other Daimons - if we mention this to someone else. "I'm the leader of Daimons, surely you know this? I've been contacting you for last couple days because I know you've more power than average Daimons, or any other demigods." He makes a gesture to the guards, dismissing them. They use the bolt-hole to go elsewhere. "I've watched Desiderius and he was couple decades old. He was killed by a Dark-Hunter several years back so I lost hope then. But you came along... I think you can meet my mother."

~*~

  "What do you mean she's 'unstable'?" I question the bloke who's supposed to be my leader  _de facto_. "And how is your mother still alive?" He told me that he's over eleven thousand years old, and a demigod son of Apollo. His second-in-command, Davyn, left us before we reached the deepest part of Kalosis. It's cold, colder than anything I've ever experieced, but once we reach a garden area, it's actually warm.

  The garden has various species of flowers I've never seen before in flash. Like the flowers and plants you see on those botonist's research papers from long extinct.

  "Who've you brought with you,  _m'gios_?"

  The voice is delicate, but there's so much powers radiating just from her voice. Soon, a form coalesces and I hold my breath when I first see her.

  The goddess stands taller than me, with ethereal features; porcelain skin, pale platinum blonde hair that's practically silver, delicate bone structures on her face, voluptuous body. She looks like a nymph, beguiling and mysterious but her eyes.

  They promise absolute destruction and malice, twin swirling seas of silver. 

  " _Matera_ , this is Niall, the demigod I told you about? The one who's been slaying Dark-Hunters on his own?" Stryker addresses the goddess as his mother in Atlantean, a language long forgotten even to Apollites. Only my demigod powers of being omnilingual told me what he meant. "I thought you could maybe meet him."

  "He's a Celt!" The air around the goddess starts to tremble from her anger, but soon subsides. "Oh, the Celts never bothered me but he still reeks of  _Apollo_ _'s_ blood."

  " _Akra_ ," I bow my head formally, starting to have my gut instincts telling me this goddess can easily kill me with a single thought. "I am Niall, a Celtic demigod as you can detect. It's my absolute honour to be in your presence."

  "Ah, this one has some manners unlike your other Illuminati Daimons. And hush, Strykerius, I know he's not one yet. He's just a baby compared to you," she reaches out with her fragile looking hand to cup the other Daimon's cheek, then drops it. "I'm Apollymi, the last Atlantean goddess standing in my pantheon, other than my precious little Apostolos."

  Anger and jealousy flashes through Stryker's eyes and he doesn't bother hiding it. " _Matera_ , is there a way you could grant the same powers you bestowed me? I think he's our key to killing Apollo."

  " _Apollo and his bitch of a twin sister shall die at my own hands, and I shall feast on their_   _blood!_ " Her eyes flash red as she yells her words out, gusts of winds picking up again.

  "We'll come back later-"

  Before I could do anything, Apollymi materialises in front of me and  _kisses me_. It isn't a kiss, however. She used the skin-on-skin contact to transfer some of her ancient unopposed powers to me and I feel so strong.

  Something Camulus couldn't grant me himself.

  "I do everything  _m'gios_  asks me. Now, young Niall, use my powers to kill everyone in sight."

~*~

  Before Stryker sends me back to mortal realm, he makes me drink a demon's blood (yuck), telling me it'll allow me to walk in daylight.

  Oh, how many things I intend to do now that I've got powers of Destruction and Death now...

   **Liam's POV**

I wake up with a feeling of someone watching me, in an unfamiliar place. Who in right mind would move a wolf whilst it's asleep?

  "Top o' the mornin' t' ya," an Irish voice greets me. I snarl at him, instantly knowing it's the Daimon that might be my mate. 

  I'm about to change forms when I realise sunlight is seeping through the curtains. I groan and sit upright, well, as upright as I can in my wolf form. He watches me with his soulless dark brown eyes that flash bloodred sometimes.

  "I was expecting you to do the telepathy shite you Weres have. Sorry, Were- _Hunter_ ," his lips twitch into an amused grin. "Say something, babe." _  
_

" _Get the fuck out of my head!"_

  "I was talking about something less vulgar, little wolf," the blonde flicks his hand, effectively shutting the curtains so no sunlight escapes from its cover. "Now, care to explain why you were eye-fucking me last time we've seen each other?"

  My only response is a growl, snapping my jaws together.  _Oh sure, I don't mind someone randomly kidnapping me when I was sleeping, the said kidnapper being a demigod_ and _a Daimon._

  "You know, you Weres really piss me off. At least that Josh bloke knew how to use his tongue," he smirks at me, his eyes now flashing bloodred. "I'd've killed him and stolen his powers. Imagine being a Daimon whose powers are of a god  _and_ a Were..."

  " _You shagged a fucking cat?"_  I growl at him once his words registers inside my head. Why haven't I noticed the stench of a panther before? " _You're supposed to be my-"_ I change forms into my human form, not bothering to manifest clothes on myself as I walk up to the Daimon.  _My_ Daimon. I glare down at him once we're face-to-face, cornering him to a wall. For a brief second, I see fear flash through his now-red eyes. 

  Without any preamble, I crash my lips onto his.

  I expected him to push me away, decapitate me, kick me in the nuts. Anything but kissing me back just as fiercely as I'm raping his lips with mine. Really, he even kicks his legs up and wraps them around my waist, making it quite obvious he feels the same lure I feel for him.

  We kiss like that for minutes - thank the gods who damned me we both don't really need to breathe - and he comes back to his senses.

  "I still hate you," he hisses around his fangs, which look a bit sharper than I remember. He can't feed from me so that's a good thing. "I'm supposed to kill you."

  "Other way around, genius," I get a sudden urge to cover my dignity so I resort to flashing on a pair of joggers. Nothing else.

  "Yeah, but I'm more powerful than you, Big Bad Wolf. I get that there's something between us that I can't quite put my hands around-"  _just say the words: mates._ "- and you know it too."

  "Why'd you sleep with a fucking cat?"  _When you belong to me?_  "Did you know he was a Were?"

  "He said that he was a half-panther, half-leopard and I could sense his Were-Hunter soul. Gee, I may be a zygote compared to you but I still know the difference between a normal soul and a powerful one." 

  "You're hiding something." Perks of being a wolf - he can detect the truth more effectively than a lie detector. 

  "Wishing you were right, you mean," his eyes glow red again.  _Not a good sign._  "What I can tell you is that I want nothing from you."

  The stench of the lie is too strong, he knows that the Irish Daimon knows he can smell it. Fuck, why are they so hard to please?

  Against better judgement and common sense, Liam keeps a tight grip on the Daimon, the very same creature he couldn't kill for last couple weeks.

  He doesn't know what love is but if he did, it's fucking frustrating.

  "You can kill me and put me out of my misery," the way Niall says it is flat, like he's forced to become a Daimon. Liam can sense the truth this time. "Go ahead, I'll be a Shade for rest of the eternity but at least I had some fun."

  "I don't take orders from a fucking leech."

~*~

  It was bad, I know I shouldn't have let him go when I could have just stabbed him in his chest and freed all his souls.

  But I couldn't.

  Every instinct I possess tells me that Niall is my mate, not a female I can breed with, that he indeed is my soulmate and it's up to me to make sure he's protected at all cost.

  _"You're an idiot,"_ Harry tells me fondly, oddly strained.  _"Why don't you just fuck him like the wolf you are and see if the mating mark appears?"_

"It's not that simple," I growl into the phone, earning a laughter from my best friend. Well, it would've lasted but he sucks in a breath and my suspicion is just bang-on. I even hear some sloppy sounds so yeah, I'm gonna kill him. "And can you not call me when you're getting a blow?"

  " _Who says,_ shit _,"_ _fucking Styles._  " _I mean, Leemo. What makes you think that my wonderful boyfriend is using his talented mouth, putting it around my prick even?"_ _  
_

"The fact that you sound fucked out," I state the obvious before - rudely - hanging up.

  Dear gods, everyone seems to be having sex around me now.

  ...

  Okay, that's an exaggeration.

  I just need to find this Daimon and get things sorted out already.

~*~

  Stood in the middle of the city of London, I hone all the wolf-senses I own and use them on finding the mystery Daimon. If he's so much power as a demigod, he can feel my reaching out, can he not?

  "You called?"

  The very Irish accent that's been haunting my thoughts and subconsciousness appears out of nowhere in form of six-seven dark blond Daimon with dark, bloodred eyes that seem to be swirling around. Shit, he got more powerful than the last time we met. Had he his meal..?

  "You know my name, so why bother pretending to not know it?"

  "'Cos I won't be needing it later. Look, it's your lifelong mission to kill my kind and my job to prevent that. I didn't become a Daimon just to die at the hands of a mangy dog," his eyes flash bright red for a second as if he heard my complaint about me not being a dog. "Dog, wolf, same canine family. I've no business with you."

  "But I do," I whisper softly as I lunge forward, crashing my lips onto his. He lets out a startled gasp when I kiss him without any finesse, growling into the kiss. I can almost sense his fear, that I've gone rabid or summat, but he still trusts me not to kill him. He knows for a fact that I'm his mate and I his. The cord between us is too much to ignore. After all, we're fated Mates, aren't we?

  "I can't do this!" The Daimon screeches out, his cheeks mottled red from embarrassment? Anger?

  No, it's lust.

  "At least tell me your name so I can recognise you as someone other than 'Daimon'," I vaguely put in my mind that I'm still atop his fit body. "Give us a little chaaange." I almost say 'chance' instead of 'change' like I have to. "Blondie won't cut it since all of you, except Zayn, have blond hair. Naturally." I find myself adding the last bit.

  "If I told you to sod off, would you actually?" The Daimon looks exasperated, his red eyes narrowed. "I'm your Death, how many times need I tell you?"

  "You feel the connection between us, how many times need  _I_ tell _you?_ " I shoot back in the same manner he tells me. Fuck, you try going without sex for seventy-three years. "Please..."

  "Please what? Fuck you then kill you as an after t'ought?" His Irish brogue thickens, possibly from anger. "I'm not killing me possible mate!"

  "So you  _do_ realise that!" I say triumphantly, holding back a howl. "How long have you suspected it?"

  "Since the first night we've met, Liam."

  That's saying somthing.

  "Let me prove myself to you. I promise I won't kil you as long as you know you're mine," I plead, walking into the danger zone now. I may give him my word but he may not care. "As a Kattakalis, I swear that I'll never harm you."

  "You're a Kattalakis?" The surprise in Niall's familiar red eyes is real. "How did you fail to mention that, Liam? By the way, I'm Niall."

  "On my mum's side, yeah." The Kattalakis bloodlines are the purest in the world of Were-Hunters, something like a royal. The original brothers who were the Princes of Acadia and got the wolf and dragon powers are in their respective timeline. Needless to say, I think of myself as... superior to other wolves. "It's not the best feature, really. I don't even have the mark of Kattalakis."

  The mark of Kattalakis simply means having dark brown hair with streaks of blond, black, ginger, just about any colours of natural hair on me. When I was a pup, though, I've been told my hair colour changed from dark brown to dark blond, and now the plain old brown. I suppose that was the variation of Kattalakis mark.

  "Don' you need t' have sex with your mate for the symbol to appear?" Niall sounds worried. Is he a virgin? Is that why?

 _Or the fact that you 'knot' your partner,_ vlakas _,_ my brain tells me. The downside about being a wolf-were is that our penes - well - grow in size in accord to the partner's and our pleasures. I've never had sex to the point of 'knotting' since I'd sex about four times and didn't - fuck - come at all. I've been best friends with my hand all along.  _Good luck with your mate._

  "You've heard all about the wolf kinks," I state the obvious, wishing Hades would open up and suck me right in. "We don't have to, if that's what you'd like."

  "Oh please, I made a habit of fucking shapeshifters!" Niall says in the most mocking way possible. "Please, fuck me from behind and sideways whilst at it!"

  "Pity how much that sounds temptin' to me," I get off of Niall's body, the sudden movement allowing him to suck in breath from surprise. "You always seem to do that when I'm around." I point at his excited little friend. "I can take you to places you've never been."

  "If you're offering to blow me, I don't want to do it out in the cold air," Niall deadpans, giving me a scowl. 

  "Yeah, let's take a ride out in the cold air, wanna feel the high, yeah," I roll my eyes, extending a hand out to him. He gives me a quizzical look at me before he takes it. Before long, I flash the two of us to my house.

~*~

   **Unknown POV**

  "I'll never forgive you for killing my mate," I growl as I watch Niall and Liam flash away from the scene. "I may be bound to an Oath to not harm the Dark-Hunters but you, Liam Payne-Kattalakis, are a wolf as well as a man... I shall exact my vengeance at the right time, right place."

  As a Hellchaser, my boss, Thorn, made it clear he needn't any fights with Artemis, the goddess of the Hunt and the Moon. Truly, he has more power than the bitch goddess but she shares a blood-bond with the Chthonian, Acheron.

  Me? I'm just a lowly halfling whose human side is stronger than expected. I'm an abomination, a freak of nature. My demon powers are only at their fullest during new moon, which I absolutly abhor. If I were to walk both paths, might as well as walk it with what I can do...

  I didn't mean to be a Were-Jaguar/demon weakling. It's rare, for a Were to even have one night with a demon, who can easily outwit you, but even rarer for them to be mates. Now, with a demon heart, human appearance and powers of Aristos, I think it's safe to say...

  I shall survive.

**Zayn's POV**

  "I told you Liam found his mate!"

  Normally, when two members of the couple argue over something, it's their dinner menu, which Twilight movie was the worst, things like that.

  But then again, Harry and I aren't exactly a normal couple.

  See, he's a Dark-Hunter, fancy name for immortals warriors of Artemis who are vampire hunters, and I'm a Daimon, fancy name for vampires who survive on blood. 

  WIth height, Harry would have the advantage in our wrestling but that boy lacks any good muscles. What can I say? I'm a descendent of gods, of course I got me some muscles.

  "Narcissisist," Harry spits out lovingly, his wrists pinned above that mop of curls he calls his hair. "Now let me go!"

  "Not until you admit I was right all along!"

  Harry gives me his signature Puss in Boots look. NOT FALLING, NOT FALLI-

  "You just said that out loud," Harry pokes his tongue out in a childlike manner. Gods, that boy is forever tweny-one and he acts like a four-year-old.

  "You love me for that," I give up with what little sanity I've left, leaning down to peck his pink, pink lips. "Now, you owe me something..."

  "I kissed you," Harry reminds me, refusing to let me say the word. 

  "Nooooo, you said you'd let me top!"

  "I knew I shouldn't have gotten the coconut-scented lube," Harry says half-jokinly, half-truthfully. "That's your favourite, after all."

  "I'm dead serious about fucking your brains out," I huff out, wanting Harry to know that I really think it's time I topped. I mean, we've been going out for almost two months, we need to switch up a little bit. "I know you finger yourself in the shower."

  "THAT WAS ONE TIME!" Harry all but screeches, his face mottling with red from embarrassment. "You caught me off-guard!"

  "Does that mean you wanked to the thoughts of me before?" I waggle my eyebrows at the fine specimen that is my protector. "'Cos I'm not gonna lie, I would wank to myself too."

  "You're so conceited," Harry spits out, his eyes rolling already. 

  "New vocabulary won't save your arse."

   _No it won't,_ Harry projects his thought to me.

~*~

  "Fuck you," Niall growls at me, his wrists bound by the magic I wield. "How dare you do this t' me!"

  "I'm a wolf, I play by my own rules," I wink at the semi-naked boy below me, his eyes dark pools of red from anger. "But you're more than welcome to free yourself with your demigod powers."

  "You blocked them with your goddamn sorcery," Niall bares his fangs at me pointedly, giving me the thousandth death glare tonight. "I swear, when I get the power of daylight walking, you're the first to kill."

  "You'd loads of time to end me," I roll my eyes, making sure his binds won't break with a tap on the invisible cuffs. "I'll just have to have sex with you once, and I'll learn if you're my mate or not."

  "It's impossible for a Daimon to procreate, or you to have kids since your body is dead," Niall provides, offering a shit-eating grin. "Not to mention, we're both blokes."

  "What binds us is the soul we have, not our physical lacks," I sigh, inching closer to inhale his familar scent of pineapple and berries. "Face it, you feel the bond between us as much as I."

  "I'd much rather behead you and use it as a bowling ball," Niall says truthfully, zero heat or scent of lie behind it. "Or maybe I'll expose you to the sunlight."

  "You're forgetting I'm a wolf," I shift closer until our breaths mingle, his breath caught up. "I sleep in my base form of a wolf, meaning when you catch me off-guard, I'll only survive a minor sunburn. You know I'm basically unkillable."

  "Your ego is, but not your body."

  "Babe, I'll gladly demonstrate how much I will devour your body."

  I don't wait for his answer, no, I just rip his expensive looking shirt off and flick my tongue against his left nipple, garnering a choked moan. As a wolf, foreplay is all about making them come from just licking.

  With more confidence, I trail my lips down lower, at his happy trail, and lap at the lower half of his abs. He groans, his hands clawing at the air. Hell yeah, I have this kind of effect on  _my_  Daimon. His eyes flicker to a shade of blue I've never seen, a mixture of aquamarine and sky-blue. He looks at me with total adoration in his eyes.

  I take that as a sign to go on to the next set of agenda I've inside my mind. With a howl, I pop open his button-fly of his slacks and drag them down, careful not to leave any teeth marks. Damn Artemis for taking away my powers to control whether I have incisors or not.

  "Please..." the Irish Daimon begs once his erection is freed from its confinement, looking angry and curved upward. "Your mouth."

  "You mean you want  _this?"_ I drag my tongue against the softer-feeling underside of his length, another choked moan/whimper flying out of his throat. He throws his head back, whining when I trace kisses up again.

  No, I'm not going to let him release just once

  There's a lot of perks of having an animal lover.

~*~

   **Zayn's POV**

  "I said yes to you topping the hell out of me, not  _this_ ," Harry whines out, his usually-brown eyes threatening to turn back to their human ones. "I swear to gods, I will kill you."

  "You said yes to bottoming, meaning I get to choose what we get!" I sing-song, finally getting the cock ring around his monster of a dick. 

  "This is BDSM!"

  "I hadn't a clue what it's called, Styles," I roll my eyes, then press a chaste kiss to his cheeks. "Now, sit back and enjoy the ride."

~*~

   **Liam's POV**

  Niall has moaned my name about four times, twice from me blowing him, once just from nipple play, and other from me jerking him off. Needless to say, you can come more than once from a night with a wolf.

  "Gods, you're unforgiving," Niall spits out, obviously spent. My cock begs to be inside my possible mate, a primal urge. "Why don' you fuck me? The kitty said he's a way better fuck than you."

  His face drops, realising his mistake. I take another sniff at Niall, differenciating a faint layer of the leopard he's been with. That fucking bastard must have cloaked his scent, somehow knowing I'd find Niall again!

  "You fucked a Were-Leopard?" I ask Niall, knowing my eyes are probably slipping to their golden hue, since anger is the trigger to losing my Dark-Hunter powers. "How dare you!"

  "I couldn't read his mind like yours so I thought it was a safe bet! Besides, his tongue felt rougher, something that's definitely better than yours," the bloody Daimon I've been attracted to too long grins at me, tugging at the binds. "Babe, why don't you undo this and punish me properly?"

  "You're a demigod, you're just looking at how much I'll push you until you'll release your powers," I observe, getting a nod of affirmation. "You dick."

  "Seemed to like deepthroating me dick, young wolf." Niall retorts, a smirk growing on his face. His eyes are swirling like twin pools of scarlet, like he's hungry. For souls, of course. "Fuck me proper and let me prove the point of how we  _aren't_  mates."

  I gnaw at my lower lip. I know very well that Niall can feel the... pull between the two of us even though he's not a Were-Hunter. Hell, all mates feel that when they see their potential mate. In the back of my mind, I wonder how the fuck my mate is male, when the whole point of mates is, like i said, having kids. It's not like Niall can magically get pregnant.

  I reach over to the nightstand and pull out a bottle of lube, slicking up my fingers. Niall's breath hitches, like he's anticipating my next move.

  This is what he wanted.

  I push a finger in, not met by much resistance, but the Daimon squeezes his eyes shut, like it's too much for him. I slip another in, then scissor him out. He makes delicious noises, like I'm pleasuring him a lot.

  I had only a handful of lovers so I really don't know if I'm doing this right.

  "Feckin' hell, just get on with it already! That leopard was much quicker with putting his dick in me," the Irish Daimon presses me on, making me furious for a sec. Dear gods, I'm going at my own pace.

  "Shut it, you want to find out if we really are mates or not and I don't want to hurt you," I can't believe I just said that out loud. "I mean."

  "Jeesh, your kind has been killing mine for millennia and you really just said that? Wow," Niall rolls his ever-red eyes. "Please, do enlighten me."

  I growl and undo the cuffs on his wrist, then put him on all fours. Then, I raise his body up, making him look into the mirror across from my bed. Niall cocks a brow before I plunge in, making him moan from the stretch. It's a Katagria wolf thing, having your partner watch you drive into them. I gaze into Niall's red eyes via the mirror, his face scrunching up from pleasure as I drive into him at a forcible rate. He lets out pleasured moans, which is how I know I found his prostate. Smirking, I thrust into him with harder strokes, wrapping my hand around his leaking length. He cries out my name as he spurts all over my hand, and his walls clenching around me brings me to my climax as well. I feel my length expanding in size as I come, a wolf trait that our partners enjoy.

  "Gods, I thought that was just a fairy tale," Niall muses, grunting when he finds out I'm stuck inside him until I finish orgasming. "Ugh, not so sexy."

  After half out or so, I pull out and lie on the bed when there's a burning sensation on my palm. Niall hisses out in pain and sure enough, we both have stylised wolf head on our palms.

  "Fuck," Niall echoes my thought. "I can't be mates with you! I'm a guy!"

  "Looks like fates really are bitches," I roll my eyes. "I know you won't say the Vow so I'll be left with eternity of celibacy. I'm pretty sure you're free to fuck whomever you please since you're not a Were-Hunter, even though you're male."

  "If I say the Vow, what happens?" Curiosity enters his eyes.

 "Nothing, we're just completing the mating ritual with the magical words. If I drink your blood as you drink mine though - which is impossible since my blood is poisonous to you - that'll bind our souls together." I know that Niall won't complete the mating ritual with me. Hell, he's gonna bloody kill me now that sex is done with.

  "What if I want to complete the ritual with you?" It sounds more like he's talking to himself than me. "What if I want to somehow fuse our souls together?"

  "I thought you wanted to kill me," I say with amusement colouring my tone. "Really, you've been trying to."

  "A large part of me always knew you were me mate," Niall sighs, cuddling into my chest. "A smaller part wants to kill you since that's what Stryker wants."

  "Do you want to do the mating ritual or not, Niall?"

  "I do," there's no sense of falseness in Niall's tone. "And I won't ever try to kill you."

  "Alright... just repeat after me," I sigh and think about the Vow that's ancient. "I accept you as you are, and I will always hold you close in my heart. I will walk besude you forever."

  Niall repeats after me and I know he feels the same urge to drink from me as I do for him. 

  "We can't," I remind hm. "My blood is poisonous to you. And besides, we're already both immortal."

  "Fine."

  It may have started wrong but the future we'll have is unmapped.

  I was about to say something when someone fleshes into my room. I curse and Niall thankfully takes his sweet time to dress us both in clothes.

  The newcomer is tall, well over six feet, and he has cat-green eyes and dark hair styled into a quiff. His lips are drawn into a snarl, something that's not really looking pretty on hi otherwise handsome face.

  "Liam fucking Payne," the bloke grits out, his eyes burning like twin green flames. "I thought I'd wait 'til you had your chance with your mate."

  "I'm sorry, but do I know you?" I raise a brow at him. I can smell that he's a Were-Panther but I can also smell that he's a scent of a demon.  _Fucking hell_ , I realise that moment.  _He's a demon-panther hybrid!_ "I never saw you before today."

  "You killed my mate so I'll kill yours," is all the other lad says before lunging at Niall. Niall, who is caught off-guard, lets out a shriek before he remembers his demigod powers and transforms his hand into dragon claws, raking down the panther's back. I can see that he can transform into demon form since the panther's hands now have talons. He also seems to have grown out fangs, which snap before lunging for Niall's neck. Niall lashes out with his dragon-clawed hand and digs his hand into the panther's chest cavity. I can tell he has the panther's heart in his hand.

  "Looks like I've the upper hand," Niall whispers before pulling the heart out. The panther growls before life exits his eyes. "That was entertaining."

  "I'll say," I mumble. "Wash your hands, I'm not letting you stain my bed."

  "Bossy, bossy," Niall rolls his eyes but does as instructed.

  We cuddle for hours, our future unknown to both of us.


End file.
